Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

2013 FORMULA 1 SHELL BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
practice1 results
3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:55.198 11
2 14 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:55.224 0.026 10
3 15 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:55.373 0.175 11
4 6 Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1:55.518 0.320 14
5 9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:55.614 0.416 10
6 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:55.636 0.438 14
7 12 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1:55.954 0.756 18
8 11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1:56.110 0.912 11
9 19 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:56.770 1.572 14
10 17 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1:56.858 1.660 18
11 4 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:56.863 1.665 10
12 16 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:57.081 1.883 14
13 18 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:57.084 1.886 17
14 5 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:57.281 2.083 14
15 10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:57.358 2.160 10
16 20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1:57.821 2.623 16
17 21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1:57.887 2.689 16
18 23 Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1:58.600 3.402 14
19 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:58.929 3.731 12
20 22 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1:59.209 4.011 12
21 7 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 1:59.441 4.243 11
22 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 2:03.176 7.978 15

Blink and you will miss it

Infiniti Red Bull Racing sets new pitstop world record - GONE IN 2.05 SECONDS

The Belgian Grand Prix - Spa Francorchamps - Winners, Podium and pole position (last 3 editions)
2010: 1° Hamilton – Mc Laren (2°Webber and 3°Kubica) – fastest lap: Hamilton – pole: Webber, time 1m 45.778
2011: 1° Vettel – Red Bull (2° Webber and 3° Button) – fastest lap: Webber – pole: Vettel, time 1m 48.298
2012: 1° Button – Mc Laren (2° Vettel and 3° Raikkonen) – fastest lap: Bruno Senna – pole: Button 1m 47.573
Wins for current pilots: Raikkonen 4 wins (2004-2005-2007-2009) – Button, Vettel, Hamilton and Massa 1 win.
Pole position: Raikkonen, Hamilton, Webber Vettel and Button 1. Quite strange Alonso: no wins and no pole
Podiums at Spa: Raikkonen(5 times) – Vettel and Button(3) – Alonso, Massa, Hamilton and Webber(2)
Stats on this season after 10 races.
Wins: Vettel(4 times) Alonso and Rosberg(2); Raikkonen and Hamilton (1)
Pole position: Hamilton(4 times) Vettel, and Rosberg (3)
Podium: Vettel(7); Raikkonen (6); Alonso(5); Hamilton(4) Webber(3) Rosberg and Grosjean(2) Massa(1)
• F1 - saturday qualifying game - Spa Francorchamps:
Team battle(Ferrari) Alonso vs Massa 7-3*
*The asterisk indicates that Massa didn't participate to qualifying in Monaco.
Average qualifying position: Alonso (5,4°) after 10 qualifying - Massa (7,2°) after 9 qualifying (without Monaco)
Hamilton. Average qualifying position2,1) – Average Grid position: (2.6)*
*The asterisk indicates that he was penalized five places on the grid in Bahrain
These are the results of Hamilton in qualifying: 4 pole position – 3 second place – 1 third place and 2 fourth
places. Hamilton has the best score in qualifying followed by Vettel (2.7)
tomorrow: Free Practice One (morning) and FP 2 (afternoon)

Weather Update Belgium At Francorchamps !

Thursday ( pitwalk ) : Sunny ,around 23°C a 25°C
Friday : Sunny ,between 25°C a 27°C
Saturday : Sunny , around 27°C
Sunday : Cloudy , Rain , between 11°C & 17°C ( aaaaah come on )

Kind Regards
Shaky

I'm hedding to the circuit

The Belgian Grand Prix - Spa Francorchamps 23-24-25 August
The world Championship of Formula 1 returns in this weekend on the mythical circuit of Spa Francorchamps. it is a circuit like no other; simply the best in the world. The first and third sectors include long straights, while in the middle sector, there are high-speed and medium-speed curves, extremely technical. Along the whole track there are several ups and downs and many changes of direction. Spa-Francorchamps is the longest active circuit of the season. The hills, the trees, the mist and the rather changeable weather make unique its atmosphere. Spa, Monza and Monaco are the oldest circuits still on the calendar. Date back to the 20's of last century; long before it started the world championship of Formula One(1950). The original Spa circuit consisted of public roads that ran between the Belgian towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy, and Stavelot, in the heart of the Ardennes. In 1925 the first Belgian Grand Prix was won by Antonio Ascari, father of future World Champion Alberto Ascari. In the old layout(more than 14 km) there was the famous Masta Kink - a high speed chicane in the middle of the Masta straight between Malmedy and Stavelot. The old track was dropped in 1970 because it was too dangerous, but in the eighties the new shorter circuit (7 km) was included again in the calendar. The circuit was rebuilt very well, and the modern track is well loved by fans. In addition some historical parts (Eau Rouge Raidillon for example) have remained the original ones. Tyre allocation for this GP. Pirelli will bring: medium compound(white stripe) and of course hard compound(orange stripe).the most conservative choice, because it’s certainly one of the most demanding circuits for tyres and together with the next race at Monza, the race at Spa is also the most demanding event of the year for engines. Two drs zone: start-finish straight and of course Kemmel straight
.
Raikkonen and Ferrari rumors. it would be good to see him again at the wheel of Ferrari in 2014. Only one thing. The end of 2009 the Finn received a lot of money as severance pay. Ferrari team paid him not to drive for them in 2010 despite a regular contract. The managers of Ferrari chose to keep Massa, but after 4 year they seem to have changed their minds. Wait and see.

Since Red Bull will promote Ricciardo as 2nd drive for 2014
and Lotus team principal Eric Boullier said that they would like
to have Kimi Raikonnen again next year, but only at "right
conditions", rumors spread that the Finnish driver could
rejoin Ferrari
What do you think, guys ?
I think it will be good if he will replace Massa, so Ferrari will
have two top drivers to fight for the 2014 title
Furthermore Raikkonen has been in Ferrari three years ( 2007-2009
with a title in 2007), so he knows very well how they work
Regards, Italianfan

19/08/1987 nicolas hulkenberg german f1 driver
[Verstecktes Bild - Registrierung notwendig]

The Countdown has begon









Hopefully this year no crash at the start that involves a Ferrari car/driver

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

17/08/1952 nelson piquet former brasilian f1 driver
[Verstecktes Bild - Registrierung notwendig]

last year belgium podium
1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 44 1:29:08.530
2 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 44 +13.6 secs
3 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 44 +25.3 secs
pole
1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:47.573

Robert Kubica said a few days ago about his recovery: "If you asked me this question one year ago, I will give less chances than now" [to return to F1]. That's very optimistic news

Here is the whole interview with him: [Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]

News Update :

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari fined for DRS misuse :
Fernando Alonso and Ferrari have escaped with a fine for illegal DRS use during the Hungarian Grand Prix. The FIA technical officials reported the team to the stewards as data downloaded after the race revealed that Alonso had been able to trigger DRS on three occasions when not within one second of another car. In theory, the system should only be able to operate when a car is following within one second of another as they pass an activation point. The officials said that a setting error by the team was to blame, but that the advantage gained had been negligible. "The DRS enabling system was not changed by the team from the pre-race to the race setting," said a stewards' statement. "The driver therefore incorrectly received 'DRS enabled' messages and reacted to them (when not entitled to) on three occasions. "As soon as the team became aware of the problem they informed the driver to only use DRS when told to do so by the team. "Whilst a small sporting advantage (less than one second over the entire race) was gained, the team argued #3 also suffered a disadvantage by being unable to use DRS on every legitimate occasion.
"However, the team is ultimately responsible for ensuring the system conforms to the regulations." The stewards chose to bestow a €15,000 fine rather than any form of result penalty. Alonso therefore keeps his fifth place in the Hungaroring race.

Red Bull considering Fernando Alonso for 2014 Formula 1 seat :
Red Bull is considering Fernando Alonso as a potential team-mate to Sebastian Vettel for 2014. It has emerged that secret talks took place between the Spaniard's management and Formula 1's champion team at the Hungarian Grand Prix. High level sources claim that the notion Red Bull should consider Alonso as an option for 2014 emerged in a conversation that took place between the Ferrari driver's agent Luis Garcia Abad and team boss Christian Horner at the Hungaroring on Friday. Both Ferrari and Abad insist, however, that the talks he had with Horner were only related to a potential future for Carlos Sainz Jr, who he also represents.
While the specifics of the conversation between Abad and Horner remain disputed, Horner admitted in Hungary that the Spanish driver was now a candidate. When asked if he could deny the Alonso talks, or rule out the Spaniard for a 2014 seat, he said: "Any conversations between any of the drivers and any of the parties will always remain confidential. "But of course there have been quite a few drivers who have expressed an interest in the seat, as you can imagine." The suggestion of Alonso being a free agent in the near future is a particular surprise because it had previously been thought that he was firmly tied to Ferrari until the end of 2016.
Fernando AlonsoHorner said that while Alonso was being looked at, he was also unsure about the exact contractual situation, despite suggestions of break clauses. "Is he available?" said Horner. "I don't know. You ask him." Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali claimed that Alonso was firmly locked down at the team - but acknowledged that the outfit had to improve its current performance to please its driver. "First of all we have a contract with him," said Domenicali. "No doubt, Fernando is an asset for the team. "We need him to work very closely with everyone, because after all this is a difficult moment in the season.
"We have to deliver a job. Full stop. This is the same for everyone, not only for him." Although Alonso is not in the championship situation he had hoped to be this season, he made it clear on Sunday that he was still "happy" at Ferrari. Luis Garcia Abad and Fernando AlonsoThe team's situation is set for a boost with imminent confirmation of James Allison's arrival in a senior technical role, although the impact of Allison's arrival will take time to show. Horner's frankness over Alonso could also be viewed as an act of gamesmanship, at a time when the driver market is particularly fluid and the championship fight is getting more intense. The Alonso situation could weaken Kimi Raikkonen's bargaining power in his Red Bull talks, as well as causing internal friction at Ferrari.
Equally, Abad may have known that a meeting with Horner in front of photographers at a race would fuel speculation about a potential Alonso switch - which would serve to remind Ferrari about the Spaniard's desire to succeed. When asked if he could confirm he would see out his Ferrari contract, and was happy to stay at Ferrari irrespective of results, Alonso said: "I am very happy.
"Obviously we need to improve the car and we are going to have chances to win the world championship.
"August with four weeks with no F1 is a very dangerous period for you guys [the media]. Hopefully we will have a quiet summer."

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News :

LewisHamilton: " Win one of the most important " :
Lewis Hamilton has hailed his Hungarian Grand Prix victory as "one of the most important" of his career, the Briton clinching his maiden win as a Mercedes driver. Hamilton had earlier admitted his surprise at being on pole, and remained of the belief that he would lack the ultimate pace to challenge at the top on race day. He had looked to have lost out after the first round of pit-stops, slotting in behind Jenson Button. However, the 2008 World Champion made a vital overtake to pull out a clear lead, as the chasing Sebastian Vettel became bogged down behind the McLaren. "It’s an incredible feeling," Hamilton said of his 22nd career victory. "The team did an incredible job. We studied a lot last night, and had no idea if it would go that well. The last 20 laps were just about managing the tyres. I think you could tell I was hungry for it today. I went all out. I was going for every move I had. "I think this is probably one of the most important wins of my career. I’m really happy to be a part of the team." Speaking of his title hopes, Hamilton reckons the victory will inject new life into his challenge, with Hungary perhaps marking a watershed moment for the Silver Arrows. "We’ve got to work hard," Hamilton said ahead of the remaining nine races. "If we come here and can make our tyres work we should be able to do it anywhere." In the sister Mercedes, Nico Rosberg retired late on with an engine failure, having dropped back after a collision with Felipe Massa during a ragged opening lap.

Kimi Räikkönen: " Poor qualifying cost us victory " :
Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen says he is satisfied after achieving second place in Sunday afternoon’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but believes the result could have been even better had he not experienced a poor qualifying session. Having started from sixth, Räikkönen managed to successfully exploit his Lotus’ kind use of Pirelli tyres to complete a two-stop strategy, enabling him to move ahead of several three-stop runners. Suffering with heavily worn rubber in the closing stages, he was forced to deal with a charging Sebastian Vettel. The German attempted a bold pass into Turn 4, but the Finn held his own with some firm defending to stay ahead.
Alluding to a missed chance for the win, the 2007 World Champion said: "I keep making my life difficult on Saturday’s, so we paid a price for it. It was a bit tight with Seb [Vettel] but in the end it paid off and we gained some points in the championship."
"I knew that it was going to be a bit tight, but I didn’t really have any doubts that I could keep him behind. The team worked well and everything worked well for us." Following his second place, Räikkönen moves ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Drivers’ Championship, now sitting on 134 points, 38 behind current leader Vettel.

Sebastian Vettel : ''Hold up behind Button was crucial ' :
Sebastian Vettel has blamed his inability to clear the McLaren of Jenson Button after his first pit-stop as the reason for his third place finish in the Hungarian Grand Prix, believing the situation cost him vital time in his pursuit of eventual winner Lewis Hamilton.
Having made a clean getaway from the dirty side of the grid, the German shadowed Hamilton as the first pit-stop phase approached. Both emerged from their respective stops behind Button, who was running longer into the race on the Medium tyres. Unlike the Mercedes driver, Vettel became bogged down behind the 2009 World Champion, ultimately damaging his front wing in a failed attempt to get past. "It was not the best race," Vettel admitted. "The rear tyres seemed to fall apart pretty quickly. I lost a bit of time in the pit-stop and then came out behind Jenson which was crucial. I struggled to get past him, and then damaged my front wing."
Having lost ground, Vettel also found himself behind the two-stopping Kimi Räikkönen in the final laps. On fresher tyres, he gained a run on the Lotus driver towards Turn 4 and tried to make a move around the outside, but was edged towards the grass on entry as his title rival successfully held his position. Despite complaining about the forceful nature of the Finn’s defence on the radio, after the race the reigning World Champion brushed aside any suggestions of potential animosity between the two.
"I told him but he only laughed!" Vettel said. "In the heat of the moment it was quite tight. I nearly lost the car but that is racing. I was very close to him, but I couldn’t catch him on the straights. I did all I could, but we surely wanted a bit more today." Although disappointed with third place, Vettel has stretched his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 36 points over nearest challenger Räikkönen, now sitting on 172

Jenson Button blames Grosjean over clash :
Jenson Button says Lotus driver Romain Grosjean is responsible for their coming together in the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Briton claiming that he did all he could to avoid contact. Following the first pitstop phase, Grosjean had been part of a trio of drivers held up behind Button’s long-running McLaren. The pair ultimately clashed on the run to the Turn 6/7 chicane on lap 24, with the Frenchman squeezing the 2009 World Champion, forcing him towards the grass as he tried to seal the overtake. With the incident due to be investigated after the race, Button has pinned the blame squarely on the former GP2 Champion, believing that the steward’s deliberations will be fairly swift. “I’m going to see the stewards, but I think it’s pretty straight forward, he said. “I couldn’t go any more left. That’s it really. Unless I’m on the grass, which is not where I want to be when braking for a corner, he had no way of not hitting me. I obviously didn’t realise how narrow the circuit was at that corner… “It could have been a lot worse than it was and it could have ended our races. I was quite lucky. I was there with my arm out in the cockpit going, ‘what are you doing? I’m going to be on the grass in a second.’ And then I was. I don’t know what he was thinking at that point.”

Romain Grosjean penalised but keeps sixth position :
Romain Grosjean has been given a 20 second time penalty for his clash with Jenson Button during Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix. However, the Frenchman keeps sixth position as he was 21.524 seconds clear of the McLaren driver at the chequered flag.
Grosjean, who was also given a drive through penalty during the race for exceeding the track limits while passing Ferrari's Felipe Massa, collided with Button at the Turn 6/7 chicane on Lap 24, the latter being squeezed towards the grass under braking.
Having studied the footage, the race stewards chose to add time to Grosjean's race .

Nico Rosberg rues opening lap collision :
Nico Rosberg was left downcast following Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver forced to retire in the final laps with an engine failure, having earlier compromised his race with a ragged opening lap. Rosberg made a decent start off the line, and was challenging as high as second into the first corner. The German’s lap became progressively worse however, taking his Mercedes to the tarmac run-offs on several occasions. He ultimately collided with the Ferrari of Felipe Massa around Turn 5, but after the race laid the blame for the incident at the Brazilian's door. “I got a good start, but then Felipe and I came together on the first lap, which was unfortunate as I was in front and had left some space for him, but his front wing hit my rear tyre,” Rosberg explained. “That cost me a lot of positions and it's really difficult to make the places back up on this track.” Rosberg’s race eventually ended amid a cloud of smoke, his engine blowing up on the run down to Turn 2, causing an oil fire to break out at the rear of his Silver Arrows. Nevertheless, he believes that team-mate Lewis Hamilton’s victory puts the Brackley-based squad on a good footing for the rest of the season. “My day came to an early conclusion with the engine failure, however, today was a great day for the team and there are lots of positives for us to take from this weekend," he added. "I’m really looking forward to the upcoming races, as we know that we have a quick car and we made the new tyres work for us this weekend.” With the retirement, Rosberg has lost further ground to Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship, now trailing his team-mate by 40 points.

Fernando Alonso investigated for DRS violation
Fernando Alonso is under investigation after it was uncovered that he used DRS outside the designated window on three occasions during the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver, who finished fifth, is now set to appear before the stewards. "After the race DRS activation data from car #3 was analysed," read a statement from governing body the FIA. "It was found that the driver has activated the adjustable bodywork in three occasions when he was more than one second behind another car.
"As this is not in conformity with article 27.5b of the 2013 Formula 1 sporting regulations I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration." DRS usage should only be possible when within one second of a car ahead .

Felipe Massa: " Grosjean penalty completely wrong " :
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa believes the stewards were wrong to penalise Romain Grosjean for his daring Turn 4 move during the Hungarian Grand Prix. Having emerged in traffic following his second pit-stop, the Frenchman passed Massa around the outside of the swee[omg corner, but the panel subsequently handed him a drive through penalty after deeming that he exceeded track limits.
Speaking after the race, Massa questioned the decision against his Lotus rival. "If he took the penalty because of what he did with me, that's completely wrong," argued Massa. "He didn't go four wheels outside, he went with two wheels." Alan Permane, Lotus' Trackside Operations Director, shared Massa's stance: "I feel really sorry for Romain for what appears to be a very harsh penalty for a fantastic move on Felipe Massa. Yes, he ran off the track, but he had nowhere else to go." Grosjean, who finished the race sixth, added that he viewed the move as acceptable. "I haven’t seen the footage yet and I thought it was a good move, but unfortunately the stewards took a different view," he said. "This could have been the one for me, but we will just have to wait a little bit longer and keep improving to make it happen."

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

hey shaky it's belgian time
2013 FORMULA 1 SHELL BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
[Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]
Fri 23 August 2013
Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30
Sat 24 August 2013
Practice 3 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying 14:00
Sun 25 August 2013
Race 14:00